NEW ZEALAND

Unlike many young people traveling in New Zealand I was not particularly interested in the adrenaline rush of bungee jumping or white water rafting, but I felt thrilled at the idea of taking a helicopter flight at Lake Wanaka to admire the landscape from above. After booking the flight and reaching the heliport I met the …

Less known than Milford Sound, one of the most iconic landscapes in New Zealand, Doubtful Sound was ranking very high on my list and, together with Abel Tasman National Park, wild and remote Northland and the flight from lake Tekapo over the mountains and glaciers, it ended up being one of the highlights of my …

My love affair with Abel Tasman National Park started with a short sailing trip along the coast. Seeing places from different perspectives is one of the many fascinating things about travel, and I liked the idea of getting a first glimpse of Abel Tasman from the sea, on a catamaran, before heading for a few …

Everyone I happened to meet in New Zealand liked Windy Wellington (as the capital city is cheerfully called because of the strong wind blowing more often than not), where they frequently spent several days when not even longer. The truth is that despite I went there three times (first at my arrival, then back from my tour …

I hadn’t planned to visit Christchurch and I happened to spend there an afternoon totally by chance. Since it was a last-minute decision, I didn’t know what to expect nor what to do and see in only a few hours. My hostel was right in the city centre, only a few steps from Christchurch Botanic …

A hike in the forest, amidst fascinating countless shades of green The thought of the countless shades of green came up to my mind short after I arrived in New Zealand. Together with the rugged coastline, the unique greenery of New Zealand caught my eyes at fist sight. Green is New Zealand dominant colour From the iconic silver fern to the giant …

So many people advised me to visit Northland that I couldn’t wait to discover this remote and northernmost area of New Zealand. Wild and remote, Northland is definitely a must-see in New Zealand That this leg of the journey was poised to be a memorable one became clear shortly after we left Auckland, when we started …

First comes the smell of ‘rotten egg’ – caused by sulphur – to signal that you’re entering the geothermal area of Rotorua, a place which I came to call the ‘Land of the Maori‘ since a large community populates this region. As they represent over 35% of the local Rotorua area population, I got to …

What a surprise Auckland, and no wonders it’s called ‘the city of sails‘. Having been told that it was not particularly pretty I was expecting Auckland to be an unattractive city. On the contrary, I happened to have a great time in New Zealand‘s biggest city, liking it much more than Wellington (but there I …